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Dave Westlake – On the Road to Beating Feingold

Dave Westlake is a true conservative.He has written about it.He has spoken about it.He has been living and breathing it his whole life. Although talk radio has not taken him seriously, the regular folk of Wisconsin have not only come to know Dave, they have come to trust in his conservative voice and know he is the one to beat Feingold.

Along the way, however, he has been up against a few road blocks named Terrence Wall, Dick Leinenkugel, Ron Johnson, Tommy Thompson, as well as the old guard Republicanelite.Thrown out in front of Dave, these deterrents did not slow him down.In fact, he has been blazing full force ahead, attempting to serve Wisconsin as it’s next U.S. Senator.

None the less, people are crazy for the newest announced candidate, Ron Johnson.A new excitement has risen in talk radio and the “politics as usual” Republican establishment.But has it risen in the conservative arena?I’m not so sure.

Obama and the Democrats have their “Hope and Change”.We now have the Republican equivalent—“Freedom”.This is the slogan Ron Johnson is running on and I am having a difficult time determining how exactly this is going to work in defeating Feingold.

What WAS hope and change? Like “freedom”, it really never was clearly defined.It became whatever you wanted it to be.There was no substance behind the slogan, no confirmation of a better plan.We were left with a President who got elected on the voters’ hopes for a “change” they could “believe in.”

We got a change, alright.And I don’t think people have been too happy with it. If people would have done their research, they would have realized what change was actually around the corner.Instead, they flocked to the chosen one with a blind eye and deaf ears.Granted the left winged media did their best to avoid reporting on Obama’s cohorts and his progressive agenda, but the writing really was all over the wall.And to analogize if I dare, I would say a similar thing is happening with Ron Johnson.In fact, here are some quotes taken directly off of Johnson’s wall on facebook.

“Go Ron, GO!” Seen many times on his wall and kind of reminds me of Go, Dog, Go, or Run Forest, Run.

“We are counting on you to help save our country.” Maybe it’s just me, but thisseems rather desperate.

“He may actually have integrity unlike those in congress today.” He MAY haveintegrity?And this is supposed to be reason to vote for someone to become Wisconsin’s next U.S. Senator, because he MAY have integrity?”

“I have some ideas to share with you.” Maybe if Johnson had his own ideas, the person of this statement (or the establishment for that matter) wouldn’t have to be worried about sharing their ideas with Johnson.Maybe Johnson could actually be sharinghis ideas with us.

“What a well spoken and confident guy for being new at this.” We better be putting a well spoken, confident person up against Feingold.This should be a given, not an exception, as this person seems to imply.And, as long as he mentions it, yeah, Johnson is new at this isn’t he?In fact, so new that he was endorsed 6 (count ‘em, 6) days after his announced candidacy.Why in this political environment, with Patriot groups and Tea Parties growing all over the state, looking for Washington to replace itself with men and women who are grounded in the constitution and the principles of our Founding Fathers, the Republican elites chose to endorse someone who did not have a stance on the issues is bewildering and highly disappointing.Even more maddening, is the fact that Johnson was portrayed as the candidate with the deepest Tea Party roots.“He founded the Oshkosh Tea Party.”“He spoke at many Tea Parties across Wisconsin.”These are quotes I’ve seen time and again.A true example of the misconception of this candidate that we are, according to the establishment, supposed to be clamoring to in the name of “freedom.” Johnson, as we should all know by now, did not found any Tea Party and spoke at two(because he was asked to by republican party establishment types).

“I have no idea of your platform.However, I want Feingold out of there.” I wonder if Johnson knew what his platform was?I don’t think he had one prior to the establishment building it for him.

“It was great to see Ron in the West Bend parade, many people did not know who he was.”Do I even need to comment here?

“Ron great job on Up Front.I agreed with everything you talked about. People are jumping on the bandwagon everyday.” And yes they are.Where it is going though, remains to be seen.

“I’ve been waiting for YEARS for a truly conservative, viable candidate to take on Mr. Feingold and send him home.I REALLY hope you are it, Mr. Johnson.”

And then in response to this comment:“I agree with Tina, I REALLY hope you are a true conservative.” Oh good gosh, help me here.I really, really, really, hope Mr. Johnson that you are the one to save the day.“Hope” and “The One” – have we not learned our lessons?For crying out loud, can we please find out who the candidate is BEFORE we endorse someone?Find out what he stands for, what his convictions are, what his plan is?

“It is time for a new direction for the school districts, local governments, state governments and federal governments.Maybe it will start in November.I do not know the positions of Mr. Johnson on many issues, but agree with what I do know.” Well that’s comforting.We need changes galore and I don’t know where in the heck Johnson stands on anything but I’m going to back him because the party elites told me to.

“Can you post your issues on your website?I can’t find them anywhere and I keep missing interviews. If I’m looking for them others are looking as well.”

In response to this:

“@JanetI can’t find them either.Just sent an email, if I get a reply I’ll post them.”

Maybe I missed it but I looked and never found a follow up.

You can’t make this stuff up.The writing IS ON THE WALL.Please wake up!!We have a conservative ready to take on Feingold.A West Point grad that we don’t have to REALLY hope will be a true conservative.His name is, of course, Dave Westlake and there is no reason in the world why the Republican Party had to run out and lure anyone else in to the race.This love fest with Johnson has got to stop.Westlake is and always has been a viable candidate.His lack of personal millions should never have gotten in the way.Actually, it is a plus—it takes away Feingold’s ability to run as ‘the common man” protecting the public from the rich elite—which is what he’s so successfully done in the past.Feingold has yet to be defeated by big money—in facthis strength is to defeat it.Why 2010 should be any different is difficult to imagine.

When asked by Charlie Sykes why he got in to the race, Johnson answered, “I was watching Fox news, and uh Dick Morris came on.He was talking about, “uh hey Russ Feingold is really, really vulnerable.Hey if you’re a rich guy in the state of Wisconsin maybe you ought to decide to run.”This is so telling of so much.Johnson admittedly is trying to take on Feingold because he is rich.Truly, we all know this is but a stitch in the biggest tear of Feingold’s seat.Truly, we are aware of the cry out across the country to elect men and women of principle and of conservative substance. Truly, Johnson missed the boat when answering this question. And if he wins the primary, I hope he doesn’t miss the ship full of people demanding for his trust – NOT his trust accounts.

Why so many are flocking to the “hope” of conservatism instead of the proof of conservatism is beyond me. I wonder how many people are choosing to be back seat drivers – yelling out directions, crying for a change in scenery all the while stopping at the ATM, using the card with the name of the cabdriver that has been just thrown in to their car.Using the bank account of this new driver so they don’t have to use their own – taking his word that you will end up at the right destination so that they don’t have to think about it.

Will we allow the cabdriver to lead us through the muck or will we be our own driver, navigating the way with informative direction, making sure we choose the right people in our car to get to where we need to be?

Like it or not, Johnson has been thrown in to this race with the expectations of talk radio to be our only chance against Feingold.I love talk radio as much as the next conservative, but I really think they got it wrong on this one.

Westlake announced his candidacy in June of ’09.He has been all over the state, putting tens of thousands of miles on his car, all the while meeting thousands and thousands of people.He has been earning the trust of people throughout the year.His strong convictions, his unflinching determination and his commitment to duty, honor and country are only but a few of the reasons why I believe Westlake will be the one to unseat Senator Feingold.

I urge you to not simply take the word of talk radio pundits and a few Republican Party establishment delegates; make sure you are backing the right candidate and check out DaveWestlake at:www.davewestlake.orgYou might just find that what you’ve been looking for is right in front of you.